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Writing & Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays: The Essential Guide to Getting Your Work Published
Write It Short, Sell It Now Short stories and personal essays have never been hotter--or more crucial for a successful writing career. Earning bylines in magazines and literary journals is a terrific way to get noticed and earn future opportunities in both short- and long-form writing.Writing & Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays capitalizes on the popularity of these genres by instructing on the two key steps to publishing short crafting excellent pieces and successfully submitting them. You'll learn how different craft elements--including point of view, character, dialogue, scene writing, and more--specifically for short stories and essays.Recognize the qualities of excellent short works, using examples from recently published stories and essays in major journals.Understand the business of writing short, from categorizing your work and meeting submission guidelines to networking and submitting to writing contests.Master the five-step process for submitting and selling like a pro.Featuring advice and examples from a multitude of published authors, Writing & Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays is a must-have for any writer's bookshelf.
246 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 19, 2017
78 people are currently reading
525 people want to read
About the author
Windy Lynn Harris
3 books36 followersWindy Lynn Harris is the author of "Writing & Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays: The Essential Guide to Getting Your Work Published" (Writer’s Digest Books/Penguin Random House). She’s a prolific writer, a trusted mentor, and a frequent speaker at literary events. Her short stories and personal essays have been published in literary, trade, and women’s magazines across the U.S. and Canada in places like The Literary Review, The Sunlight Press, and Literary Mama, among others.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
September 28, 2017
So you want to be a writer? Are you planning on working on the book-length manuscript for as long as it takes? And then market it to agents for as long as it takes?
How about being published in the meantime? Nothing is better experience for the novelist or memoirist than writing and publishing short stories or personal essays along the way. If you don’t have what it takes to go through the process successfully with short pieces, what makes you think you can do it with a longer story? Additionally, earning bylines along the way may help get your first book published.
Windy Lynn Harris has written the definitive book to help you get started. Writing & Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays: The Essential Guide to Getting Your Work Published provides valuable guidance for crafting and fine-tuning those shorter pieces, as well as providing a step-by-step plan for getting published. This system includes finding markets, preparing your manuscript, and how to submit those pieces to magazines. She even gives pointers for how to deal with rejection, an inevitable part of every writer’s life.
After you follow the advice in this book, I suspect you will have acceptances, too, as Harris’ information is practical and grounded in the realities of the publishing industry. I suggest purchasing a paperback copy and keep it at hand and well-notated on your desk.
How about being published in the meantime? Nothing is better experience for the novelist or memoirist than writing and publishing short stories or personal essays along the way. If you don’t have what it takes to go through the process successfully with short pieces, what makes you think you can do it with a longer story? Additionally, earning bylines along the way may help get your first book published.
Windy Lynn Harris has written the definitive book to help you get started. Writing & Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays: The Essential Guide to Getting Your Work Published provides valuable guidance for crafting and fine-tuning those shorter pieces, as well as providing a step-by-step plan for getting published. This system includes finding markets, preparing your manuscript, and how to submit those pieces to magazines. She even gives pointers for how to deal with rejection, an inevitable part of every writer’s life.
After you follow the advice in this book, I suspect you will have acceptances, too, as Harris’ information is practical and grounded in the realities of the publishing industry. I suggest purchasing a paperback copy and keep it at hand and well-notated on your desk.
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December 14, 2017I have considered writing personal essays in the past, but have always thought it was impossible to get published or that no one would want to read about me. This book gave honest and to the point information on how to get your work read.
May 29, 2018
Really solid advice here, with step by step guidelines on how to submit your work rather than just how to finish it.
December 7, 2017
This book breaks down short stories and personal essays, defines how they are different, and then gets into the nitty-gritty about how to write each. From finding your voice to developing your characters to how to sell your writing, it goes into detail about all of it. It is such a great resource to have around. This one will be in my library for a long time.
*I received an advance reading copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.*
*I received an advance reading copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.*
February 11, 2018
I've taken to read books on writing as I find it helps me stays focused with my own writing, and I'm always trying to find some new tips I didn't know. Some of these books on writing can be quite bad. In this case, however, I was blown away!
Writing & Selling... is cut into different sections. The first one is on writing and editing and explains how to write well. There's not much new in there, but I did like that Harris added Top 10 Tips questions or pieces of advice to help you as the writer to make sure your writing is the best it can be. I find the questions particularly helpful as they lead you to think for yourself rather than just being told what to do.
What I found excellent in this book were the latter parts. In those, Windy Lynn Harris covers researching the right market for your piece of work, how to format your manuscript, how to deal with rejection or acceptance and what your rights are. She even lists plenty of journals! Now the book is very much American so these are all American journals and rights. But apart from the actual lists, all the advice can be used and transposed to any other country, you just have to do the work yourself. The author takes you through her 5-step programme to getting published. I found this extremely helpful. There is zero reason to be scared of looking to get published with Writing & Selling... as she explains everything.
When I was nearing the end of the book, I thought I would have to go back to all my bookmarks and copy all the advice and tips I found useful. That's when I discovered Harris has already done all that in an annex! All you need to do is go through it and follow the bullet points!
This is hands down one of the best, if not the best, books on writing I have ever read.
Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley and F+W Media.
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Read more reviews on my blog!
Writing & Selling... is cut into different sections. The first one is on writing and editing and explains how to write well. There's not much new in there, but I did like that Harris added Top 10 Tips questions or pieces of advice to help you as the writer to make sure your writing is the best it can be. I find the questions particularly helpful as they lead you to think for yourself rather than just being told what to do.
What I found excellent in this book were the latter parts. In those, Windy Lynn Harris covers researching the right market for your piece of work, how to format your manuscript, how to deal with rejection or acceptance and what your rights are. She even lists plenty of journals! Now the book is very much American so these are all American journals and rights. But apart from the actual lists, all the advice can be used and transposed to any other country, you just have to do the work yourself. The author takes you through her 5-step programme to getting published. I found this extremely helpful. There is zero reason to be scared of looking to get published with Writing & Selling... as she explains everything.
When I was nearing the end of the book, I thought I would have to go back to all my bookmarks and copy all the advice and tips I found useful. That's when I discovered Harris has already done all that in an annex! All you need to do is go through it and follow the bullet points!
This is hands down one of the best, if not the best, books on writing I have ever read.
Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley and F+W Media.
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Read more reviews on my blog!
January 30, 2019
I took copious notes while reading this inspiring guidebook on the literary craft and business. Harris tailors her suggestions to the unique requirements and expectations of creative nonfiction and the short story art form, with a section on querying newsier articles as well. I am putting her advice into practice currently: I have my copies of Great American Essays and the latest Pushcart Prize anthologies from the library, I've registered for this year's AWP writers conference, and I typed up templates for all manner of coverletters and other business correspondence. I'm connecting with literary journals, MFA programs, and my favorite authors on Twitter, too.
Harris's chapter on Rejection was surprisingly helpful. Hearing about the publishing hurdles of various authors, and what ultimately happened with their rejected pieces, gives me new insight into the vagaries of the publishing industry, and renewed hope.
Harris's chapter on Rejection was surprisingly helpful. Hearing about the publishing hurdles of various authors, and what ultimately happened with their rejected pieces, gives me new insight into the vagaries of the publishing industry, and renewed hope.
November 5, 2018
I finished the first draft of my fantasy novel. I’m taking a break in between drafts to allow me to distance myself from my work. In the meantime, I’m writing a short story which I would very much like to see published. I read this book to help me navigate the publishing side of short stories. I learnt a lot, I’m glad I read it, and I would recommend it to other writers who want to publish their short stories.
The book is divided into two parts: Writing and Selling.
The first part is "Writing Short Stories & Personal Essays". It is as the title says. I didn’t like this part. It’s too prescriptive on how things should be done and how stories should be written. Instead of presenting the writer with the different ways in which you can approach an aspect of writing, the book tells you what to do and what not to do. I took this part with a pinch of salt. If you read good short stories you can probably skip this part.
The second part is "Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays". This is the good part. It goes into the details of how to find a market for your story, how to format your manuscript, how to reach out to editors and what to expect after you submit. Selling short stories isn’t a difficult process, but it certainly would take a lot of time to figure out by yourself the etiquette of submissions, the different types of rights that you can sell, the difference between multiple and simultaneous submissions, etc. This is the good part of the book and I would recommend you to buy it just for this section.
For the people interested in Personal Essays, most of the chapters seem to apply to both forms of short writing. In each section, there are a few chapters that apply only to short stories or only to personal essays. I’m not into personal essays, so I skipped those. The mechanics of selling your personal essay seem to be the same as the ones for short stories, so I still think it’s a good book for your cause.
The book is divided into two parts: Writing and Selling.
The first part is "Writing Short Stories & Personal Essays". It is as the title says. I didn’t like this part. It’s too prescriptive on how things should be done and how stories should be written. Instead of presenting the writer with the different ways in which you can approach an aspect of writing, the book tells you what to do and what not to do. I took this part with a pinch of salt. If you read good short stories you can probably skip this part.
The second part is "Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays". This is the good part. It goes into the details of how to find a market for your story, how to format your manuscript, how to reach out to editors and what to expect after you submit. Selling short stories isn’t a difficult process, but it certainly would take a lot of time to figure out by yourself the etiquette of submissions, the different types of rights that you can sell, the difference between multiple and simultaneous submissions, etc. This is the good part of the book and I would recommend you to buy it just for this section.
For the people interested in Personal Essays, most of the chapters seem to apply to both forms of short writing. In each section, there are a few chapters that apply only to short stories or only to personal essays. I’m not into personal essays, so I skipped those. The mechanics of selling your personal essay seem to be the same as the ones for short stories, so I still think it’s a good book for your cause.
February 26, 2018
Since starting my writing career in 2013 and self-publishing my first book in 2014, I've pigeonholed myself into writing these lengthy romance novels. However, I have a personal desire to write for all types of publications. Sometimes the stories that I have are shorter, flash fiction, and I wasn't sure what to do with them, so they'd get abandoned. The romance genre and readers are so fickle, preferring to get longer stories for their money, so novellas and short stories are often not purchased to a larger degree--unless the story is a series and the reader feels they're getting more. And sometimes, I just don't want to create a series.
When I say this book was available for review, I hoped I'd get a galley. I was very happy with this writer's reference book. The information provides novice to experienced writers specific topics within short story and essay writing and publication. My favorite part of this book were the examples of short stories and essays with annotation by the book's author of what the writer/essayist is trying to convey.
This book gave information on which reference publications would help with the writing process. The last part of the book is about querying and submissions to publications and which publishers publish shorts and essays. One of the most important sections was rejections. As writers, we have a hard time receiving rejections or critiques of our work, but the stories given were immensely helpful.
I recommend this book to any writer who wants to expand her horizon with writing different types of writing genres, no matter how short or long.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.
When I say this book was available for review, I hoped I'd get a galley. I was very happy with this writer's reference book. The information provides novice to experienced writers specific topics within short story and essay writing and publication. My favorite part of this book were the examples of short stories and essays with annotation by the book's author of what the writer/essayist is trying to convey.
This book gave information on which reference publications would help with the writing process. The last part of the book is about querying and submissions to publications and which publishers publish shorts and essays. One of the most important sections was rejections. As writers, we have a hard time receiving rejections or critiques of our work, but the stories given were immensely helpful.
I recommend this book to any writer who wants to expand her horizon with writing different types of writing genres, no matter how short or long.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.
October 12, 2019
In her book with the really long title "Writing and Selling Short Stories and Personal Essays: The Essential Guide to Getting Your Work Published," Windy Lynn Harris takes writers by their hand and holds it.
Other than Stephen King's "On Writing," this is the most essential book a person should read on the craft of writing.
In the first part of the book, Harris discusses the basics of writing a story. She talks about how to develop characters, how to pick a setting, and what point of view (first person, third person, etc) to tell a story in.
In the second part of the book, she gives writers both the hope and the roadmap they need in order for them to accomplish their dreams of seeing their work published by someone other than themselves.
If you are seeking to become a published author of short stories and/or personal essays, I highly recommend you pick this up as it will give you ideas in your mind, hope in your heart, and a sure-fire kick in the pants.
Other than Stephen King's "On Writing," this is the most essential book a person should read on the craft of writing.
In the first part of the book, Harris discusses the basics of writing a story. She talks about how to develop characters, how to pick a setting, and what point of view (first person, third person, etc) to tell a story in.
In the second part of the book, she gives writers both the hope and the roadmap they need in order for them to accomplish their dreams of seeing their work published by someone other than themselves.
If you are seeking to become a published author of short stories and/or personal essays, I highly recommend you pick this up as it will give you ideas in your mind, hope in your heart, and a sure-fire kick in the pants.
September 9, 2019
This is an excellent guide on both writing and publishing. It provides suggestions and resources for people who like to do things online, on paper, people who have to do things free, people who can afford Duotrope for $5 a month; Windy considers many different situations. She also explains the different products--short stories, personal essays, and articles--in such a way that writers of any single one can with practice add the other products to their repertoire and expand their submission field. Regarding publishing, this book suggested markets I've never seen in my searches in Duotrope. Who knows why? But I've found them in there now and sent them stories! This is a valuable text and worth the money.
December 31, 2017
Living, as I do, in the UK, I had no idea that essays were so important a form in America. This book was written primarily for an American audience, but this doesn't matter, as I can still submit essays to magazines in the US, and elsewhere. (I will also do some serious research on English magazines, to see if any of them take essays!) The book is very useful, and gives information on every part of the process (even on the decision about what you have actually written!) I recommend it very highly.
October 18, 2017
I received this e-arc copy from Writer's Digest Books for an honest review, thank you!
This book is focused on American audience, but I think it's worth to read anyone who want to write short or long stories, this book is perfect, because it involves to work and practice on one's writing style, shape it and answer the questions that bugs you - where to start and what's the protocol and how things are working from that point, questions that make one to write better.
I was recently given a book for an honest review by author, and it lacked basic punctuation, this is the book that gives the guidance even in this topic, because a writer can't just blame the "editor" for not correcting the mistakes, the author has to write including the punctuation, the editor can correct but you want to polish your work to it's best until you choose to show it to someone who will review it. It also gives the knowledge of literature genres and how to develop ideas on creating the topics for your story. The author has given examples of short stories, guiding the reader into knowledge.
Writing and Selling book is giving the guidance how to apply to magazines and submit your written work to online publications and publishers as well. It's worth a read for everyone who wants to succeed, being spotted from the crowd. I think it it great, maybe you didn't study literature and aren't aware of the basics....and you have always wanted to write, this is for you!
This book is focused on American audience, but I think it's worth to read anyone who want to write short or long stories, this book is perfect, because it involves to work and practice on one's writing style, shape it and answer the questions that bugs you - where to start and what's the protocol and how things are working from that point, questions that make one to write better.
I was recently given a book for an honest review by author, and it lacked basic punctuation, this is the book that gives the guidance even in this topic, because a writer can't just blame the "editor" for not correcting the mistakes, the author has to write including the punctuation, the editor can correct but you want to polish your work to it's best until you choose to show it to someone who will review it. It also gives the knowledge of literature genres and how to develop ideas on creating the topics for your story. The author has given examples of short stories, guiding the reader into knowledge.
Writing and Selling book is giving the guidance how to apply to magazines and submit your written work to online publications and publishers as well. It's worth a read for everyone who wants to succeed, being spotted from the crowd. I think it it great, maybe you didn't study literature and aren't aware of the basics....and you have always wanted to write, this is for you!
January 24, 2018
Great book. The author is clear-eyed and clearly experienced with this kind of writing. She very neatly delineates between the short story and the essay and gives useful guidance for both. A book that any writer can use and can use over and over.
If you've published more than once or twice you might not need the chapters on that process. But she gives plenty of insider tips to still make it a worthwhile read.
Worth every penny.
If you've published more than once or twice you might not need the chapters on that process. But she gives plenty of insider tips to still make it a worthwhile read.
Worth every penny.
February 4, 2018
Fast and Valuable Guidance
This book was an excellent introduction to short story and personal essay writing. I did not know personal essays and articles were so very different! This book blends technical and practical advice that is essential for beginning writers. If you are interested in short story or essay writing and publishing this is an essential first step toward those goals.
This book was an excellent introduction to short story and personal essay writing. I did not know personal essays and articles were so very different! This book blends technical and practical advice that is essential for beginning writers. If you are interested in short story or essay writing and publishing this is an essential first step toward those goals.
March 1, 2018
I have read a lot of books on writing over the years and this is one of my favorites. I found that this book had practical, up to date, and realistic advice on writing short stories, submitting them, and dealing with rejections. Windy Lynn Harris really knows what she is talking about. I have already put a lot of her advice into practice. I think this book has something for everyone, whether you are just starting out or a veteran writer.
June 13, 2018
I've read a lot of writing books and this one is definitely going on my favorites list. I loved how the focus of the book is on personal essays since that is the main type of writing I do. I found the breakdown of the essay helpful into a scene, setting, characters, dialogue, and theme. Even though I knew this information I think it was helpful to read detailed information about it. I also enjoyed the second half of the book which dealt with selling and publishing.
January 19, 2018
This book provides useful information for writers unfamiliar with manuscript submission. The book also includes sections on topics like setting and characterization that are better developed in other books that cover those topics in more depth.
I found a few helpful hints but cannot recommend this book to those of us who are familiar with manuscript submission.
I found a few helpful hints but cannot recommend this book to those of us who are familiar with manuscript submission.
May 23, 2022
What I liked about this book were the examples that the author provided to support her advice and tips regarding crafting a compelling short story or personal essay. The key to writing, as they say, is to keep practicing, keep writing, and most of all become very familiar with the type of works you would like to produce yourself.
June 5, 2023
This is an extremely helpful book. Windy Lynn Harris breaks down the process of categorizing and submitting short pieces into manageable steps. She even includes fictional characters who are sample writers like us going through the process alongside us. This book gives exactly the information and support I've been looking for to feel confidently prepared to submit work.
June 30, 2018
Excellent for a New Writer!
This book is informative, educational, easy to understand, and most importantly inspirational. I would rate it a 5 but unfortunately people are most likely to think I am someone associated with the author, of which I am not.
This book is informative, educational, easy to understand, and most importantly inspirational. I would rate it a 5 but unfortunately people are most likely to think I am someone associated with the author, of which I am not.
October 9, 2017
Part I was pretty standard stuff but Part II was excellent with very "actionable" information.
December 7, 2017
This is a helpful and encouraging guide for aspiring short story writers. Those beyond beginners will also find useful information.
February 5, 2018
This book provides a wealth of information for both new and experienced short story and personal essay writers. Throughout the book, Windy serves as your biggest fan and cheerleader.
February 10, 2018
A great reference book for writer's especially for novice writer's or people just starting to submit their work. It includes helpful tips and exercise to use when starting a draft or revising one.
July 26, 2018
Excellent resource for a writer preparing to submit for publication. Book included tips and tools and also provided excerpts and expertise from published writers...helpful and inspiring!
February 24, 2020
This book definitely makes it easy to see that I have written essays that need a lot of tweaking. It’s a very good tool that I now use whenever I need encouragement.
January 7, 2021
This is must-read resource for anything writing and trying to sell short stories, creative non fiction and essays. Great advice and encouragement to keep going.
January 12, 2021
really didn't contain much helpful advice - more full of short story examples than anything else
March 2, 2021
Some good sources for book writing contests and specific magazines and/or journals for submitting your work. A lot of it was the usual stuff about how to build plot, characters, etc.
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June 26, 2023Good resource for future use.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews